Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-03-19
HORRIBLE HOLOCAUST.
Tne Richmond Hotel In Buffalo
Burned to the Ground.
Thirty Persons Killed and Many
Seriously Injured.
All OF the 125 Guests Have Fright.
full Experiences.

BUFFALO, N. Y. March IS.
Inc Richmond Hotel and St. James Hall
IN this city. were burned early this morning
The fire was discovered at 2. 80 in the hotel
The alarm was sounded and the fire depart-
ment responded promptly. The house con-
tanned large number of guests and their
heart-rending shrieks could plainly be heard.
Ladders were at once raised and as MANY as
possible were saved, but large number of
the guests were unable to effect their escape
AT O'Clock the entire Richmond Hotel, a
new building, St. James Hall and other
property in the block. were doomed to COM
plete destruction. The corridor in the CEN
tire of the hotel acted as great funnel, and
as the flames streamed up the guests found
themselves imprisoned by wall OF fire.
Al many of the windows could be seen
frightened women in their night clothes call.
ing for help. At the third floor windows
two guests were seen by the crowd to fall
back into the flames. One man jumped from
the fifth floor to the roof of a two-story
wooden building adjoining and was seriously
injured.
Hon. NJ. W. Barse of Orlen was terribly
burned about the hands and wrists. num-
Der of insurance men were in the building
and several of them were badly injured.
AT the Emergency Hospital are: C. Davis
| Va A'S" vi NJ anu ltet DdOlV burned !,
II. B. Smith of the North British Insurance
Co. of New York. hands and feet burned !;
Edward Wheelan of New York, hands in a
terrible condition. These are probably nst
fatally injured. The Fitch Hospital contains
eight men and one woman, all in pretty
bad condition and more or less seriously in
Jured. Two injured persons are at the Sis
ters' Hospital and four at the General Hos
pital
There were l25 persons in the hotel, 70 of
whom were transient guests, eight boarders
and the remainder servants. Twenty two of
these were rescued from the windows by the
tiremen, and large number made their es-
cape by other means.
William II. Airport, night clerk says "The
fire started in the cloak room, at so. There
was nobody up but myself, the night porter
and the bell boy. | pulled all four of the
alarms on different floors and the people came
flying down stairs in their night clothes. The
fire followed the elevator, and inside of five
minutes it reached the top floor
The bell boy, Pummer, says: Il was
busting the reading room when l heard a
shout and saw the flames coming up the stair
way. Mr.. Alport and turned the hose un-
der the main stairway, but.the water would
not run. Then we gave the alarm. The
watchman and got plank and broke in the
Eagle street entrance to the hotel. Then we
got the plank under the fire escape and helped
the people down."
The spread of the flames was trighttul in
its rapidity.. As the guests were aroused and
saw the interior exits cut off they turned to
the windows. They could be seen in their
night clothes standing ont clear and vivid be-
horrible to hear.
The flames spread to the southeast side OF
the hotel first The firemen did noble work
and confined the fire to the narrow limits of
the three buildings named. Their work OF
rescue had many exciting incidents. The
telegraph wires were in the way and much
time was lost in getting the ladders past
them.
Clinton Bidwell of Pittsburg, at noon was
lying on cot at DR.. HuRhs office. "Look
at my hands" he cried. Il tied the sheets
together and came down on them. When
was most down man shot past me who had
jumped The people lay on the roof all about
me. They were groaning and dying. 1t was
awful. The skin is all off my hands.
made up my mind | would stick to the rope
and did" He turned on his cot and yelled
with pain.
/ In the next room lay Jennie Mann, daugh-
ter of one of the proprietors of the hotel.
She was terribly burned and called piteously
|
for her mother.
Alfred Clay of Philadelphia and Louis
Smith of Brooklyn, had the most remarka-
BILE experience They were in adjoining
rooms on the fifth floor. Mr.. Clay was
aroused by the ringing of the electric fire
bell. He at once though that something was
wrong. By this time the place was begin
ming to blaze furiouslv. He found exit by
stairways cut off and took to the windows.
Both he and Smith had barely reached Bum
nel's museum room, when, on looking back,
they saw five girls in a fifth story window.
They had tied the bed clothing into a rope
which they hung out; but none of them
seemed to have the courage to start. At last
one of the five took hold and swang down to
another window from which she was assisted
BY CLAW and Smith. Three others went
down in the same manner. Then the fifth
girl started. She had gone but a little dis
tance when the rope parted and she fell
down four stories. Strange TO say she was
not killed, but she was terribly injured. Her
name is Mary Connell.
One of the saddest scenes of the contagra-
ton was the fall of a man from top window
to ;he roof of a frame structure adjoining
In falling he struck on his head and died
almost instantly.
Mr.. and Mrs. VIM J. Mann, proprietors
| OF the nOtel, uau udrTo~ esCdpes' Hui .
Mann was frightfully burned about the head,
arms and legs. The last persons taken alive
from the burning building were two domes-
tics who were rescued from the southern
end of the fifth floor by firemen on an exten-
sion ladder.
| Minnie Stone, domestic, declared that
there was no one on the fifth floor when she
left it. w. ]. Mckee and w. P. Lamb of
New York, occupied rooms on the fourth and
third floors, respectively. Both were awak-
ened by the glare, and made their exit by
means of the fire escape.
Mr.. Spencer of Syracuse escaped in his
night gown, his hands, face and neck were
badly burned. In front of Danger Bros.
store lay a dead man covered by mattress.
He had black hair and full face which was
covered with blood and could not be recog
| pizable-
| Mark Osborne, day clerk and assistant
manager of the hotel, is missing. He slept
on the south side. II is belived he perished
James MCGUIRE, night engineer at the post
office, got into the hotel soon after the fire
broke out. He saved man who was com
ing down stairs in his night clothes and who
was prostrated by the flames and smoke. At
ter getting him cut he returned and tried Il